Portable clothes dryer



Jan. 23, 1968 D. R. NIGHSWANDER ET AL 3,364,592

PORTABLE CLOTHES DRYER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 6, 1965 Tmqak m m N 0 fi wu 2 A T. 7 WV m T m m H A N T e A. w H 0 H T. w H. O 2 N4 m H a R D m T ATT ORNEY Jan. 23, 1968 o. R, NIGHSWANDER ET AL 3,364,592

PORTABLE CLOTHES DRYER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1965 Jam. 23, 1968 D. R. NIGHSWANDER ET AL 3,364,592

PORTABLE CLOTHES DRYER Filed Dec. 6, 1965 i 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 3

DAN R- N\6HSWP\NDE.R

dorm WALTER \NVENTORS BY $444, fifih ATT RNEY United States Patent 3,364,592 PORTABLE CLOTHES DRYER Dan R. Nighswander, Fox Point, Wis., and John Walter,

Evergreen Park, Ill., assiguors to E. R. Wagner Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Dec. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 511,763 7 Claims. (Cl. 34-133) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure pertains to a clothes dryer in which the dryer drum is rotated by virtue of a resilient, flexible belt which engages the outer periphery of the drum and a pulley of the driving motor of the dryer. The drum is provided with several small rollers which engage an inwardly bent lip of the access opening of the dryer housing and is also provided with a small shaft at its rear which is rotatably mounted in the back wall of the dryer.

This invention pertains to improvements in clothes dryers and is particularly directed to a portable light weight dryer which can be used to dry one or two pairs of stoclc'ngs, light under garments, and other small items which are very often washed or rinsed as separate items.

One of the typical users of a dryer of this type is the single girl who quite frequently used to rinse her stockings in the evening and hang them up to dry for use on the next day. With a dryer embodying the present invention, she will be able to dry the stockings immediately after rinsing and thus will avoid the inconvenience of having to hang stockings over shower curtain rods, on towel racks, or other places not intended for this purpose. The dryer is equal in size to a table model radio and thus does not take up any appreciable space and, as the radio, it is connectable to the regular household outlet. Because of these features the dryer is well suited for installation in the bathroom or may be stored in a closet and only taken out when needed.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide simplicity in design and operation in a dryer of this type.

This object is attained by rotatably mounting the dryer drum to the front and back panels of the dryer housing and by utilizing the rim around the dryers front opening as a track for the dryer drum rollers. The drum is connected to the back panel by a small axle shaft projection provided in the rear wall of the drum and a nylon bearing bushing crimped in the back panel. The drum is a molded plastic piece and the axle shaft as well as the axles for the rollers are integral with the drum. The drum is connected to the dryer fan motor through a simple rubber belt which frictionally engages the outer periphery of the drum and is connected to a driving pulley of the motor. As it will be fully appreciated from the detailed further description, the invention resides in reducing the number of dryer components which would be normally expected to be required for a dryer of this type.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is front plan view of the dryer embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the dryer with its front panel being removed to show the drum construction and with a section being broken away for the sake of showing the drum wall in cross-section;

Patented Jan. 23, 1968 FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the dryer.

Referring to the drawings, the dryer embodying the present invention is of rectangular shape being approximately 12" in height, 16" in width and 7 in depth. The dryer is loaded and unloaded through a round access aperture It) provided in the front panel 12 of the dryer housing.

A rectangular door 14 is mounted at hinges 16 to the front panel and is provided with apertures 18 through which hot air may escape during use of the ryer. A control panel 2% having a timer control knob 22 and a heat control knob 24 are mounted on the perforated side section 26 of the front panel. The drum is provided with appropriate hot air apertures 48 and with three indented sections 49 which are provided to cause some tumbling of the material as the drum is rotated. Also three rib sections 50 are molded integrally with the drum to provide the requisite stiffness to this structure.

The drum is rotably mounted on the front panel by three rollers 51 which are in rolling engagement with the circular inwardly projecting lip 52 surrounding the access aperture 10 in the front panel. The rollers 51 are nylon bushings which are axially slidably mounted on small stubshaft projections 53 molded integral with the drum section 41. It should be noted that the rollers are in engagement with the corner between the lip 52 and the adjacent inwardly tapered panel section 54. This construction prevents the rollers from axial movement and thus avoids the more complicated and expensive roller construction which would be normally expected in designs of this type. As shown in FIG. 2 the door has a section 55 which extends slightly past the drums access opening 56 and thus prevents any of the clothes within the drum from coming into contact with the edge of the lip 52 or the rollers 51.

At its back the drum is supported by the sheet metal back panel 30 which is connected to the flanges 32 Of the box section type housing 34 by screws 36. A nylon bushing 38 is fixed to the back pan at an inwardly indented section 40 and receives an axle pin 42 which is molded integrally with the rear portion of the drum.

The housing 34 is also made of sheet metal and its front edge is turned inwardly at 44 to thereby avoid the exposure of any sharp edges. The front panel 12 is fixed to the housing at flanges 45 by spot welding or similar means. The intermediate panel 70 and the decorative section 26 are also fixed to the housing by spot welding at inwardly turned flanges 45 and 47 as shown in FIG. 4.

The driving and heating structure of the dryer is best shown in FIG. 4. A fractional horsepower motor 56 is mounted on an appropriate base 57 and drives the rotary blower 58 as well as the drum driving pulley 59. The blower is housed in a sheet metal housing 60 and is designed to circulate air over electrical heating elements to thereby provide the drying air at a preselected temperature.

The pulley 59 is connected via a flexible rubber belt 61 to an idler pulley 62 which in turn rotates pulley 63. The latter pulley is connected to the drum via a round flexible rubber belt 64 which is in frictional engagement with the outer periphery of the drum. The heating elements and the motor are controlled by a rotary switch 68, of known design, and a timer 69, also of known design. Both components are mounted on an intermediate sheet metal panel 70 and are connected to the appropriate control knobs.

The electrical circuitry is shown in FIG. 5. The two controls of this circuit are the timer and the rotary switch. The switch can be set to five positions: The first position is an open circuit position in which of course no electrical connection is made between the four contacts A, B, C. and D of the switch. The second position is a cool-air setting in which electrical connection is made between contacts A and C. If the timer is actuated, the motor is energized to thereby rotate the drum as Well as the blower, however the circuits containing the heating elements are not energized. The third position is a Warm setting in which contact A, B, and C are connected. This energizes the motor as Well as the low heat resistance element 72. The fourth setting (medium) electrically connects contacts A, C, and D thereby energizing the motor and the high heating element 74. In the fifth setting (hot) contact A is connected to B, C, and D thereby energizing both the low and high heating elements to provide the hottest condition for the dryer. It should be noted that a normally closed thermostat safety switch is provided to automatically open the heating circuit in case of over heating.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A portable electric clothes dryer comprising:

a dryer housing having a front panel which is provided with an access aperture to the inside of said housing, said panel having an inwardly extending flange section surrounding the periphery of said aperture;

a dryer drum located in said housing; said drum having an access aperture corresponding in size and location to said panel aperture and having a plurality 35 of roller means surrounding its access aperture; said roller means being engaged with said flange section to rotably support said drum on said front panel;

a back panel for said housing, said back panel and drum having cooperating axle bearing means to rotably support said drum at its rear on said back panel;

an electric motor connected to a fan and to a pulley to rotate them upon energization of the motor;

a resilient flexible belt frictionally engaged with the outer periphery of said drum and with said pulley to thereby rotate said drum upon energization of said motor; and

electrical control means to control the operation of said motor.

2. A portable clothes dryer according to claim 1 wherein said axle-bearing means is composed of a hearing carried in an aperture of said back panel and of a projecting member which is integral with that drum section adjacent to said back panel and which projects into said bearing.

3. A portable clothes dryer according to claim 2 wherein said back panel is indented inwardly in respect to said housing at an area surrounding said bearing to thereby avoid any projection of said bearing and said projecting member beyond the plane of said back panel.

4. A portable clothes dryer according to claim 1 wherein said front panel is made of sheet metal and said flange section is an inwardly bent section thereof.

5. A portable electric clothes dryer according to claim 1 wherein said flange section is comprised of an annular portion which is tapered inwardly in respect to said housing and towards the center of panels access opening,

contact with said lip and being in engagement with said corner.

6. A portable electric clothes dryer according to claim 5 wherein said roller means is comprised of at least three rollers which are mounted on stub shaft projections which are integral with said dryer drum.

7. A portable clothes dryer according to claim 6 wherein said rollers are mounted for axial movement on said stub shaft projections and maintained on said projections by virtue of engagement with said corner.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,633,044 12/1953 Gilbert 34-139 X 2,866,274 12/1958 Geldhof 34-133 X 3,129,577 4/1964 Yarnanaka 6858 X 3,320,678 5/1967 Berke 34-433 X FREDERICK L. MATTESON, 312., Primary Examiner.

A. D. HERRMANN, Assistant Examiner.

3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 Dated January 23 1968 Dan R. Nighswander and John Walter It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4, under References Cited, "2,633,044" should read 2,663,044"; and "2,866,274" should read--2,866,273--.

SIGNED AND SEALED M 2 19m Mm Anest:

Edward M Fletch, I WILLIAM E. Conmissioner of Fate Attoating Officer 

